Provencal Stew - Estouffade à la Provençale | Provencal French Recipes Guide

Provencal Stew - Provencal Braised Beef Casserole - Estouffade à la Provençale or Daube Provençale = A typical traditional dish from the French Riviera.

In fact, this dish has many different names in English and also in French, as they are so many recipes all slightly different.

This dish is known in France as "Estouffade à la Provençale", "Daube Provençale", "Daube Niçoise" or "Ragoût Provençal" after the earthenware pot it was originally cooked in.

The meat usually used is Beef but you will discover a video below for a Vegetarian Stew Recipe.

You will also find tips for other stew recipes from other countries where fish, chicken and other can be used to prepare a succulent dish!

My Recipe below is a Provencal Braised Beef Casserole.

In every instance, this is a delicious rich fruity stew.

It makes a perfect winter meal and a wonderful Sunday-Family-Supper sort of dish.

Ingredients

Serves 7 / 8 persons

• 1 Kg of meat (Beef).


• 1 L of good red wine (cheap wine for cooking is an error...).


• 3 big spoons of olive oil.


• 2 sticks of parsley.


• 1 finely sliced onion.


• 2 crushed garlic cloves.


• 2 cloves.


• 1 peel of a sour orange.


• 100 g of salted bacon.

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Let's start Our Provencal Stew (with Beef) - Estouffade à la Provençale

• Cut the meat (lean beef but not dry) into pieces.


• Put them to marinate the day before or a few hours before the cooking, in a deep dish, with a good red wine, spices (2 sticks of parsley, thyme, bay leaves), a finely sliced onion, the peel of an orange, some crushed garlic, some cloves, pepper, salt, and a little bit of nutmeg.


• In a pot, put a little bit of lard (or some goose fat), a good splash of olive oil; when it is a little bit hot, put in pieces of diced salted bacon, a crushed onion and stir.


• Cover the pot and stir for about twenty minutes.


• Then add the pieces of beef, already strained.


• Reduce while boiling.


• Then lower the heat, cover and leave to cook at least 5 hours or more, according to your desire, in several seances.


• The pot will be covered with a deep dish full of water, you can add some during the cooking but normally it is not necessary.

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My Tips For Our Provencal Stew (with Beef) - Estouffade à la Provençale

• Serve with polenta and Gruyere cheese (I love it!).


• Or serve with pasta and Gruyere cheese.


• Or serve with mashed potatoes.


• Or boiled potatoes and lots of fresh vegetables.


• Serve the beef as it comes bubbling ! (the leftover meat is also delicious served cold the next day with a simple green salad).


• Some use green olives or black olives.


• Some add vegetables as carrots (as in the Daube Niçoise) or zucchinis.


• Again : never use cheap wine...

Also remember: A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise.

Feel free to stir your own ideas into your Dish!

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Vegetarian Provencal Recipe Stew Video

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